McCain downplays issues

In Nevada for the first time since becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, John McCain downplayed positions of his that are unpopular in the state.

Asked about his opposition to legal betting on college sports and his support for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, McCain put both issues in the past tense.

The betting surrounding March Madness, the NCAA Tournament in its second week, is a major boon to the Las Vegas casino economy. McCain once proposed legislation to make it illegal.

"I felt that way because the college coaches, the most respected people in America, came to me and said that they believed that there was enormous temptation before their young athletes," McCain said during a brief local media availability that ended before its scheduled start time.

On the nuclear dump site about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, which most Nevadans oppose, McCain stressed the importance to national security of finding somewhere to store spent nuclear fuel currently at power plants across the country. But he indicated he could be persuaded to end his support for Yucca as the site.

"I will respect scientific opinion," he said. "The scientific opinion that I had up until recently was that Yucca Mountain was a suitable storage place."

McCain was in Las Vegas primarily for a high-ticket lunch fundraiser at The Venetian, hosted by casino executives Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Venetian parent Las Vegas Sands Corp., and Terry Lanni, chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage. Admission to the fundraiser started at $1,000.

Adelson and Lanni are often rivals but were brought together by their shared Republican ideology and their mutual friendship with event co-host Sig Rogich, a local Republican power broker and longtime McCain ally.

The campaign wouldn't give fundraising totals from the stop, but knowledgeable sources said more than $500,000 was raised from the approximately 350 people in attendance.

Friday's event was the last stop on a tour of Western states for McCain, a four-term senator from Arizona. His campaign said he was headed from Las Vegas back home to Phoenix.

McCain was joined Thursday in Salt Lake City and Denver by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who beat McCain in those states' primary contests, as he did in Nevada.

Romney did not continue to Nevada with McCain. But McCain said Friday that the alliance of the two men, who were bitterly at odds during the campaign, was proof of party unity going forward to November and that they would continue to campaign together.

"It was an important sign of the kind of unity that we've achieved in our party since the primaries were basically concluded," he said. "I'm pleased to note that Governor Romney will be campaigning with me in various places in the future."

Democrats have been sharply critical of McCain on the economy, where he has warned of excessive government intervention to fix the current crisis in the markets. His critics say McCain has failed to come up with a comprehensive plan to address the issue.

In Nevada, the state with the highest home foreclosure rate in the nation, McCain made only a passing, joking reference to economic woes.

"I hope you'll enjoy the rest of your time here," he said in wrapping up the seven-minute news conference. "Remember that there's an ailing economy here in Las Vegas, and I'm sure that all of you will help out in repairing it."

The comment appeared to be directed at the members of the national media who travel with McCain. They were the principal audience for the short news conference, the candidate's only public appearance in Nevada on this trip.

Because the question-and-answer session ended nearly 10 minutes before it was supposed to start, most local reporters who were on time to the event missed it and had no chance to ask the candidate about local concerns.

A campaign spokesman said the scheduling mix-up was unintentional and not an attempt to avoid the local media.

Jeff Sadosky said McCain will be back to campaign in Nevada and that the senator's home region is important to him.

"Serving as a senator from Arizona for over two decades and being an Arizonan, he uniquely understands the challenges faced in the West," Sadosky said. "Growing economies, land use, water, the immigration issue: These are the issues that are at the core of the future of America's West and that he's been on the forefront of for decades."

Many of those in attendance at the fundraiser, including Adelson who backed Rudy Giuliani, had supported other Republican candidates. Fundraiser co-host Rogich said he believed they were won over by McCain and "proud to have him as their nominee."

During the fundraiser, "He gave an inspirational speech about his position on the economy, and he acknowledged the problems we're having right now," Rogich said afterward. "It was just vintage McCain, candid and forthright on the issues at hand."

McCain also spoke about Iraq and the environment, Rogich said.

Next week, McCain is scheduled to undertake a "Service to America" tour, visiting places across the country that shaped him personally, beginning with Meridian, Miss., where an airfield is named after his grandfather, who was an admiral in the U.S. Navy.

The tour is slated to hit McCain's high school in Virginia; Annapolis, Md.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Prescott, Ariz.

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2919.